Winter Glow Moved Up a Week, and Both of Spokane's Holiday Kickoff Saturdays Now End in Kendall Yards

Last year the Winter Glow Spectacular lights in Kendall Yards came on Friday, Nov. 28, the day after Thanksgiving, and the Kendall Yards night market started the same weekend, KXLY reported. This year the lights come on a week earlier. The Winter Glow Spectacular opening ceremony is Saturday, Nov. 21, with fireworks, and the display stays lit through Jan. 3, 2027.

That single change moves the start of Spokane's holiday season. Nov. 21 already had the scheduled opening of the Numerica Skate Ribbon and the Santa's Arrival tree lighting at River Park Square. With Winter Glow on the same date, the first Saturday covers both sides of the river and lasts all evening. Thanksgiving weekend is still there, with the Davenport, Riverfront and Kendall Yards Winter Festival, but it now runs as the second weekend of the season instead of the start.

Last Year's Split, With One Event Moved

Downtown's holiday kickoff was already spread across two weekends. In 2025, River Park Square held its kickoff on Saturday, Nov. 22, the Davenport Hotel lit its tree on Nov. 28, and Riverfront's Numerica Tree Lighting Celebration came on Saturday, Nov. 29. Every event below kept its place in the calendar except Winter Glow.

Five of the six moved one day earlier, simply because the calendar shifted. Winter Glow moved seven days. In 2025 its lights came on during Thanksgiving weekend. This year they come on the Saturday before.

Saturday, Nov. 21, Hour by Hour

Kendall Yards was a Thanksgiving-weekend stop last year. This year it becomes the last stop of an evening that starts downtown. The day's schedule fits together in order:

1. 11 a.m.: The Numerica Skate Ribbon at Riverfront Park is scheduled to open its 2026–27 public season, with skating until 9 p.m. Unlimited Ice Pass holders get a preview the day before, Friday, Nov. 20.
2. 3 p.m.: River Park Square opens its family activities: face painting, balloon twisting, carnival games, popcorn, bath-bomb pressing and hot chocolate, running until 7 p.m.
3. 5 p.m.: Santa arrives "Under the Big Top" and the mall's tree is lit, with aerialists and other performers, between 5 and 5:30 p.m. Santa photos follow from 5:45 to 7 p.m.
4. 6:15 p.m.: The Winter Glow opening ceremony starts at Olmsted Brothers Green Park in Kendall Yards. The lights come on, Santa and Mrs. Claus greet visitors, and fireworks close the program by 7:15 p.m. Visit Spokane lists the event address as 1335 W. Summit Parkway.
5. Until 9 p.m.: The Skate Ribbon stays open after the fireworks, so a late skate fits on either side of the Kendall Yards stop.

The tightest stretch is between 5:30 and 6:15 p.m. There are 45 minutes between the end of the River Park Square lighting and the Winter Glow ceremony across the river. Families who want Santa photos at River Park Square will have to pick one, because photos run until 7 p.m. and the Kendall Yards program starts at 6:15.

Winter Glow has run on a simple idea since it started in the winter of 2014. Its organizers put it this way:

"Our Mission is to light up our community during the winter holidays, keeping it FREE for everyone to enjoy!"

The display runs on donations and volunteers, and the organization lists a P.O. box in Spokane for donations by check. Opening a week earlier gives the free lights six weeks in Kendall Yards before they go dark on Jan. 3.

Thanksgiving Weekend Now Runs as a Second Weekend

With Winter Glow already lit, Thanksgiving weekend is now a weekend of tree lightings and the Kendall Yards market. It has more going on than the first Saturday, spread over three days.

Friday, Nov. 27. The Kendall Yards Winter Festival, organized by Kendall Yards Night Market, opens with a Fleet Feet Pancake Run from 9 to 11 a.m., the Christmas Market from noon to 4 p.m., and Spokane Carolers from 3 to 4 p.m. That evening the Davenport Hotel holds its celebration from 4 to 8 p.m. in the historic lobby at 10 S. Post St., and the tree is lit at 6 p.m. The program includes Santa and Mrs. Claus, a North Pole letter mailbox, carolers and a youth choir, peanut-brittle demonstrations, holiday treats and drinks, shopping in the Emporium, and a charity raffle.

Saturday, Nov. 28. This Saturday has the same evening shape as Nov. 21. Riverfront's free Numerica Tree Lighting Celebration runs from 4 to 7 p.m. on the plaza next to the Skate Ribbon, with a 6 p.m. countdown, food trucks and live entertainment. Kendall Yards has carolers from noon to 1 p.m., the market from noon to 4 p.m., Meet Santa from 4 to 7 p.m., and fireworks from 7 to 7:15 p.m. The 6 p.m. countdown at Riverfront and the 7 p.m. fireworks in Kendall Yards are one hour apart. That is the same order as the week before: a tree lighting downtown, then fireworks on the north bank.

Sunday, Nov. 29. The Christmas Market and Meet Santa both run from noon to 4 p.m. in Kendall Yards.

The Christmas Market is in a heated tent with local vendors. The festival also advertises two live reindeer, holiday music, hot drinks, local artists, carolers, kids' activities, and fireworks on Saturdays. This is the second year of the festival in Kendall Yards. Our summer field guide to Kendall Yards covers the rest of the neighborhood.

What Two Saturdays at the Skate Ribbon Cost

Since the Skate Ribbon is next to Riverfront's tree lighting on Nov. 28 and opens on Nov. 21, some households will skate both Saturdays. The posted prices are $10.95 for adults 13 and older, $7.95 for youth ages 3 to 12, and free for children 2 and under. Skate rental is $7.95, and helmets are free on request. Those are the same admission and rental prices listed for the 2025 opening.

An adult who rents skates both Saturdays pays $37.80 at the walk-up rates. The Adult Unlimited Ice Pass costs $39.95, the Youth Unlimited Ice Pass costs $28.95, and a rental add-on for the pass costs $19.95. Winter Value Passes are $33.95 for adults and $27.95 for youth, and taxes are added to all of these. For anyone who owns skates, the unlimited pass costs about the same as four single adult admissions, and it also gets them into the Nov. 20 preview.

Dec. 12 Lines Up the Same Way

The pattern continues into December. The Kendall Yards Christmas Market comes back for a second set of dates, Dec. 11 through 13, from noon to 4 p.m. On Saturday, Dec. 12, River Park Square hosts BrrrZAAR, with local vendors and artists on all three floors of the mall. Two local-vendor markets on the same Saturday, on opposite sides of the river, means the third weekend of the season can be planned the way the first two were.

That same stretch also has Christmas Tree Elegance, Dec. 1 through 13, with decorated trees shown at the Davenport and River Park Square. The Nutcracker is at the Fox Theater Dec. 3 through 6, with State Street Ballet, more than 90 local dancers, and the Spokane Symphony playing live. The Kendall Yards lights stay on through all of it until Jan. 3, 2027.

The trees and lights going up downtown also mark the point when many Spokane homeowners start thinking about next spring. If listing in the new year is a possibility, The Bill Richard Real Estate Group can give you a calm, no-pressure starting point before the holidays get busy. Request a Free Home Valuation and we'll walk you through what your home is worth and what preparing it for market could involve.